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Gas is over $5. Amazon is adding tariff fees. Delta is raising baggage costs. The economy feels chaotic — and people are panicking.

📊 FINANCIAL LITERACY SERIES - PART 2 OF 4:

In Part 1, we covered the foundations (emergency savings, budgeting, insurance). In Part 2, LP is back to help you navigate economic chaos without losing your mind or your money.

🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:

LP (Rollins Breion) is the founder of TRG Financial and co-owner of The Hive. He manages individual and institutional portfolios, and he's walking us through what to do when the economy feels like it's falling apart — tariffs, inflation, market volatility, and all.

💭 WE EXPLORE:

Why pulling your money out of the market during volatility is a mistake (you're pricing in your losses). The difference between market gains and inflation (and why your pockets don't feel richer even when stocks go up). How tariffs and trade conflicts are already affecting everyday consumers (Amazon fees, Delta baggage costs, gas prices). What "rebalancing your portfolio" actually means (international equity, emerging markets, sovereign debt explained). How to audit your spending during uncertain economic times. Why the people who make money don't like to lose it (and what that means for the market). How capitalism creates millionaires during crises (COVID example: Zoom, Microsoft Teams). Why you should stop watching American cable news for economic information (it's entertainment, not facts). LP's trusted news sources: Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, Malcolm Nance's Black Man Spy. Teaching your kids about spending habits (they're watching and copying everything you do). The psychology of the checkout line and why 90 cents adds up to hundreds a month. Why coffee shops, convenience fees, and impulse buys are wealth killers. How to balance quality of life with financial discipline (you don't have to martyr yourself). LP's final message: Money doesn't have a side stop choosing sides and start making strategic decisions.

THE TAKEAWAY:

The economy is volatile. The news is designed to scare you. But panic is not a strategy. LP's advice is simple: don't pull your money out of the market, rebalance your portfolio for the times we're in, audit your spending to make sure you're not bleeding money on convenience fees and impulse buys, and stop watching cable news that treats economics like a reality TV show. Get your information from unbiased sources. Make strategic decisions. And remember crisis creates opportunity if you're paying attention.

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FINANCIAL LITERACY SERIES - PART 1 OF 4:

April is Financial Literacy Month. Over the next four episodes, we're breaking down the money lessons most Black men never learned from emergency savings to investing, credit to generational wealth.

🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:

LP (Breion Rollins) is a financial advisor, founder of TRG Financial, co-owner of The Hive podcast studio, and a man who lost everything in the 2008 market crash, then rebuilt from scratch. His story isn't just about finance it's about the gap in financial education that keeps Black men stuck, and the three core strategies that actually build generational wealth.

💭 WE EXPLORE:

Why LP walked away from HR to study finance after losing it all in 2008. The three financial principles every Black man should know: real estate, term life insurance, and emergency savings. Why your tax refund isn't a win (it's an interest-free loan to the government). How consumerism and marketing drain the Black community faster than anything else. Why DoorDash and Uber Eats are financial traps you need to avoid. The real difference between term life and whole life insurance (and why most people get it wrong). Why you should never buy a new car off the lot (25% depreciation the moment you leave). The 60/30/10 budget breakdown: needs, wants, and nice-to-haves. LP's three-bucket strategy for managing money (taxable, tax-deferred, and working accounts). Why your 30s are the hardest financial years of your life (and how to navigate them). How to teach your kids about money before they make the mistakes you did. Why finding your community and making a plan is the only way through chaos.

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Some losses you never "get over." You just learn to carry them differently. My friend Michael Blackshire knows this better than most.

🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:

Michael Blackshire is a special education teacher in Dallas, a Grambling State graduate, military veteran, and one of my longtime friends. We met back in 2011 at Grambling, went through the military together, and built a friendship that's lasted over a decade. In 2017, Michael lost his daughter Leighton to SIDS at 6 months old. His story isn't just about grief it's about the friendships that refused to let him face it alone, and what it looks like when brothers show up for each other in the darkest moments.

💭 WE EXPLORE:

The instant transformation of becoming a father and why Michael needed a daughter first. Waking up to every parent's nightmare: losing Leighton to SIDS. What it's like when investigators walk through your home asking if you're feeding your child while your baby is at the hospital. Why some family members held him to impossible standards while our friend group filled his apartment for months. The difference between coping (alcohol, partying, avoiding) and healing (therapy, sitting in the pain, community). How grief reshapes itself: from "I lost my child" to "What would she be doing now?" Why Black male educators are essential for young Black boys. Moving to New Orleans as a reset and why sometimes you have to leave home to heal. The guilt of living a full life after losing a child. Why therapy became non-negotiable four years after her death.

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Quentin R Jiles is a therapist, professor, podcaster, and former contestant on Peacock's hit show "The Traitors." His journey from imposter syndrome in grad school to becoming a trusted therapist for men and couples is a testament to the power of representation, obedience, and learning from your mistakes — even when the whole world is watching.

WE EXPLORE:

Why Quentin walked away from therapy after grad school and what brought him back. The heartbreaking moment he realized Black children struggle to name what's good about themselves. How imposter syndrome shows up in predominantly white spaces and why representation matters. Why every therapist needs a therapist (and every man needs one too). What it's like being a newlywed, new parent, and new business owner all at once. The life lessons learned from ignoring God's voice on national television and losing $125,000. Why learning your parents' story is essential to understanding your own patterns. How couples therapy can save relationships on the verge of fracture.

✊🏾 THE TAKEAWAY:

Obedience is better than sacrifice. When God speaks, listen, even when it doesn't make sense, even when it's uncomfortable, even when you think you know better. And if you're a man who thinks therapy "isn't for you," Quentin's story is proof that the right therapist can help you see what you can't see on your own.

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KEY TOPICS DISCUSSED

• Imposter syndrome in predominantly white spaces

• Why Black children struggle with self-worth and positive self-identification

• The importance of representation in therapy and healing

• Why every man needs a therapist (and how to find one)

• Couples therapy: what it is and why it works

• Learning your parents' story to understand your own patterns

• Marriage, fatherhood, and navigating new identities

• Quinton's experience on Peacock's "The Traitors"

• The cost of disobedience: ignoring God's voice

• Life lessons from being wrong on national television

• Obedience vs. sacrifice: trusting divine guidance

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Some men carry their father's rage. Douglas chose to put it down.

🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:

Douglas is a serial entrepreneur, TEDx organizer, podcast host, and a man who walked away from a toxic father at 31 and never looked back. His journey from surviving childhood abuse to thriving as a business owner, community leader, and advocate for intentional living is a testament to the power of healing, accountability, and choosing your circle wisely.

💭 WE EXPLORE:

How growing up with an abusive father shaped Douglas's view of trust, relationships, and masculinity. Why he went no-contact with his dad in 2017 and hasn't looked back. The story behind his TEDx Talk "Why You Should Break Up With Your Friends" and how your circle determines your ceiling. The power of self-care, pedicures, Thai massages, and rest as radical acts for Black men. Why leaving Houston, building multiple income streams, and taking care of his mother became his definition of success. The difference between being busy and being intentional, and why the hustle culture narrative is a trap.

✊🏾 THE TAKEAWAY:

Healing isn't soft. It's the hardest work you'll ever do. And the men who do it become the ones who lead, love, and live with clarity. If you're still carrying someone else's pain, protecting someone else's legacy, or stuck in a circle that doesn't challenge you. it's time to make a change.

👑 Community Link:

Ready to go deeper? Join our free community: [Link]

• Childhood trauma and abusive father relationships

• Father wounds and going no-contact with toxic parents

• Breaking up with friends who keep you stuck

• Emotional intelligence and vulnerability for Black men

• Self-care as a non-negotiable practice (pedicures, massages, rest)

• Serial entrepreneurship and escaping the state job trap

• TEDx organizing and public speaking

• Why exposure (travel, new cities, new people) expands your mindset

• Curating mentors, business connections, and hobby circles

• Taking care of aging parents and reversing roles

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You can’t heal what you refuse to name.
This conversation explores emotional gaps many Black men were raised with and how those gaps show up in adulthood.
Healing isn’t weakness. It’s responsibility.

Key Topics Discussed

• Emotional illiteracy in men
• Trauma disguised as anger
• Chronic stress in Black men
• Therapy as leadership
• Marriage revealing emotional maturity
• Forgiveness without apology
• Faith and obedience
• Healing as responsibility

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In this episode of the Inner King Initiative, Adam Wilson is joined by AJ for a real, conversation-based discussion about trauma, accountability, faith, and rebuilding.

AJ shares how childhood trauma at 4 years old shaped his understanding of love, desire, and safety. He opens up about street life, jail cycles, relationship breakdowns, and the internal cage he built through pride and unhealed pain.

Through faith, brotherhood, and fatherhood, AJ explains how he began taking responsibility for his healing, and how letting go became the first step toward becoming the man he was meant to be.

This episode invites men to confront their past honestly and choose growth over survival.

Listener Reflection:

Take a moment to ask yourself:

Have you forgiven yourself for what you survived—and are you willing to do the work to become better?

Support the show

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In this episode of the Inner King Initiative, Adam Wilson is joined by Dr. Joshua Smith, a licensed therapist, for a real, grounded conversation about the mental and emotional challenges Black men carry—and why therapy, faith, and community are essential for healing.

Together, they explore childhood trauma, parent wounds, isolation, boundaries, depression, anxiety, and the pressure Black men feel to perform instead of process. Dr. Smith breaks down why healing is a journey, not a destination, and how men can begin doing the work without shame.

This episode is an invitation to stop surviving in silence and start leading from wholeness.

Listener Reflection

Take a moment and ask yourself:
Where have I been avoiding the work—and what support do I need right now?

Stay Connected

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@InnerKingInitiative
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Threads: @theadamwilson_

🎙️ New episodes every Wednesday at 7:00 PM CST

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